That's strange. Artest is a chucker as well, but somehow Brooks could synergize with him but not Martin. Not to mention, Martin moves OFF the ball, whiles Artest dominates the ball like Brooks. I have a bad feeling defense has a lot to do with the synergy.
How the hell are we trying to win now with all this limits on Yao? Not only that, but our starting lineup just isn't good enough to compete for a title, much less a spot in the playoffs.
A few wins will cure a lot of ills and clear the air somewhat. I know it'll make me feel better. Just glad tonight's Halloween. I have a gas scaring the heck out of the local kiddos!
i was watching the game last night and i remember kevin martin passing up on an wide open three. He passed it up to aaron brooks to set up the offense and what does brooks do...throw up a contested 3 like a r****d.
Believe it or not, Artest averages more assists and has a higher assist ratio than Martin. He's a more willing passer. But really, it's the defensive end that's the problem. I mean, it's not like the Rockets haven't been putting up a ton of points in these 3 games. Battier-Artest-Yao were a wall behind Brooks.
I'm confident things will turn around. This team is just very discombobulated with all the new faces, Yao's minute limit, and KLow's injury. Once the rotation and roles get nailed down better, this team has some potential. In the meantime, Halloween is a good distraction!
If we are not trying to win now, then I agree with you we should play PatPat and Hill. But Adleman and Morey are trying to win NOW. Yao, Scola, and Martin are in the primes NOW. They aren't gonna get any better.
It's only 3 games. I'm not happy about it, but again, it's just three games. Miller missed camp and is obviously still knocking off rust, getting into shape, and learning about his teammates. Yao's trying to fit in and having these restrictions clearly upsets him as much as it upsets everyone else. Lee's still learning the schemes. I look for him to eventually be a big contributor, but it's early days. Everyone and their maiden aunt knows Dampier is coming, and I would think that would produce a lot of uncertainty among some Rockets players. The roster, as has been said by several folks here, is built to make a deal that still hasn't happened. Don't think the players don't realize that, either. Ponder what that does for team chemistry. Adelman and the staff have to juggle all of this, while waiting for Morey's other shoe to drop. Let's hope it drops soon and we see the team we're actually going to be this season. I just have a hard time believing that this is it.
Do not tank this season, it's not worth it! Next year's draft class sucks! I'm not even sure if most of them will declare with the uncertain lockout. IMO, we should have tanked last season when we found out Yao was out for the season. We coulda got Demarcus Cousins or something.
That would be a great analogy if Brooks was guilty of doing that. But he isn't. He's been passing well and setting up teammates. Of course he would have had more assists if some of his teammates didn't blow wide open layups after being set up by Brooks deft passing.
Aaron Brook's pacing and perimeter defense is the problem, not his shooting. Billups shot like crap the other night, but was by far the superior PG on the floor. Pacing and perimeter defense...
yea i think my point was more along the lines of chemistry.. it's not all brooks fault but our team has no chemistry right now and finding the right mix of players to have on the court makes a huge difference..
No, he was not good at all with his court vision, passing and court generalship. I don't know where you got your grades but wearing blinders does that to your vision. Brooks' excellent shooting is the only reason he is even in the NBA and his poor shooting in the past two games does not change that.
You make WAY to much sense...way to much. Brooks needs to be shooting well to influence a particular game but if not, he is an avg to below avg PGuard who can't guard most of his fellow guards. So AB better be hitting the gym and work on that shot.
Chemistry comes when guys know their roles, SunsRocketsFan.... ....if you smell what I'm cookin'. I'll say this about Aaron Brooks. He has made tremendous strides as a player since he was drafted. He has played well with veterans to defer to, and when he was the main main. Even though he's undersized, Brooks has shown a great deal of ability and moxie. All of those things speak to him having a long and productive career. But when you're talking about chemistry on a team, you need to have guys accept a specific job so that other people can do theirs. "Roles" seems like a dirty word to a lot of NBA players…almost like you're saying to them that they're not good enough to do anything except one job.... The better the players are on your team, the more necessary it becomes for each player to accept a place in that team where everybody benefits. That means sometimes sacrificing a great deal of your individual identity for the good of the team. In basketball, the best way to define player roles, to me, is to make sure that whatever spot a guy is playing, that he can do the job at both ens of the floor. In Aaron Brooks' case, as the Rockets' starting point guard, he has to defer a great deal of what makes him good (offense) in order to accommodate an offense that has several options. A "scoring" point guard is a lot different in form and function than a point guard who can score. Before a point guard looks to score, he has to make sure that one of his teammates doesn't have a better opportunity. Everybody else is comfortable doing their jobs, because the point guard is comfortable with (and good at) doing his. As you found out for yourself, SunsRocketsFan. The most difficult thing to ask a pro player to do is to be something other than himself. Usually, if your team is balanced enough, you can find people willing to focus on doing their jobs, which would free people up to do what they are most comfortable doing. The Rockets have to get Yao Ming's minutes-by-doctors-appointment situation figured out here in a hurry. Yao's presence alone will make it easier for other people to fit into roles that help the team. Team units need a bit of balance themselves in order to be good, too. Right now, the Rockets start an offense-heavy unit, with Shane Battier being the only real defensive-minded player available. Again, taking the clamps off Yao's minutes would help team defense greatly, but you do need someone else to be a bit more functional individually in that group. I don't approve of guys being called franchise players or cornerstone or a team's best player if he can't adequately defend his position, or do the minimum of what his position requires of him. I don't like guards that can't shoot, handle the basketball, or make good decisions with it. I don't like small forwards who don't slash to the basket and aren't active defensively. I don't like big people who don't like to play in the paint or who can't finish around the basket. I don't like any player anywhere who can't hold his own at the defensive end. All those negatives can compromise team chemistry big time, SunsRocketsFan. Nobody's perfect, and I'm certainly not suggesting that any of the Rockets have to be. But your job is your job. And you're not entitled to it if you can't do it. Personally, I don't know if Aaron Brooks or Kevin Martin can currently play together as starters because neither of them are adequate defending their positions. Those two have to get better at that. Just have to wait and see what happens.....
Aaron Brooks is the best point guard we have. Please deal with it people. All this love for Lowry is nuts especially now. Dude had 20 minutes in the Denver game, what did he do with them? Brooks sucks at defense that is a given, he makes mistakes, he is only human, but the hate this board seems to give him and the idiocy of blaming the Martin-Brooks combo is beyond illogical. Aside from Scola, Brooks and Martin are the only scorers we have. Budinger is coming along but not there yet. The defense and lack of consistency does seem to be taking its toll on the team, but to blame one or just a pair of players and make a thread about it makes the whole board look bad. And if you don't know, no team would trade a legit superstar for anything less then Scola at this point, unless we threw in draft picks. Which would be a mistake for anyone other then getting Carmelo or Chris Paul.
